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Politics

Downtown plan is key to race in New Port Richey

Council candidates also vow to solve that perennial puzzle: the city's general fund.

By JODIE TILLMAN
Published April 8, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - When people run for public office in this city, they tend to talk about revitalizing two things: the downtown and the general fund.

Tuesday's race - seven candidates vying for three City Council seats - is no different. But those two perennial issues are even more pronounced this year, considering the stalled Main Street Landing project and the potential cut in city revenues from state property tax reforms.

Main Street Landing developer Ken McGurn indefinitely shut the $33-million condo and retail project down last summer after failing to get the city's approval for additional public financing.

Then there is the general fund. Anticipating property tax cuts from Tallahassee, the city has instituted a hiring freeze and a moratorium on most equipment spending. New Port Richey particularly feels the pinch because the entire city is a redevelopment district, so nearly all property tax revenue generated by values above the 2001 levels goes to a redevelopment trust fund.

Here's where the candidates stand:

* * *

Rob Marlowe said the city needs to meet again with Main Street Landing developers and find a way to get the project completed.

"For better or for worse ... that project's got to be finished," said Marlowe, 53, a computer company owner. "That is just the key to making things work."

He said the best option may be McGurn's proposal to create a special taxing district in which some of the project's future tax revenue would help pay off construction debt. He said the city can't afford to simply increase the financial incentives it has already pledged to Main Street Landing.

Marlowe said he doesn't see any obvious cuts that could be made in city spending.

"One of my challenges is going to be helping craft a way out of this mess," he said.

* * *

Bob Consalvo, the former parks and recreation director who was appointed to the council in December, said helping the general fund grow through annexations is even more crucial given the financial outlook.

Consalvo, 65, cites his experience as a city director working with tight budgets. At this point, he said, he did not see cutting positions.

"Only if you want to reduce services," he said. "I've never seen where people want to get rid of services."

He said the city must re-establish a rapport with Main Street Landing developers and consider McGurn's special taxing district to get the project finished.

* * *

Samantha Beckman, an 18-year-old freshman at University of South Florida, said she keeps hearing from residents about Main Street Landing. She said she would have supported giving more city funding.

"You have to spend money to make money," she said.

Her youthfulness makes her stand out in the field, she acknowledged, but said, "I hope they see past my age and see I want to be their voice."

* * *

Ray Rossi, a 50-year-old insurance adjustor and marine contractor, said the future of Main Street Landing and the budget are important. He said he would have voted for additional financing to get Main Street Landing finished. He was going to have a furniture import business there. And of the $3,500 he's reported raising, McGurn, the Main Street Landing developer, contributed $200.

But a more important redevelopment priority for him, he said, is cleaning up the city's stretch of U.S. 19. With the low-cost motels, pawn shops and workday labor, the strip is "a habitat for crime," he said. This hit home: In 2005, a man burglarized Rossi's home while he slept; the man was later arrested.

Rossi wants police to be more active in that area, including running warrant checks on the people who are waiting for work at the day labor businesses. Because of constitutional reasons, police Capt. Darryl Garman said, officers cannot demand to see identification on random people unless they have a specific reason to do so.

Rossi also has a second issue not echoed by other candidates: He wants to require all new city employees to live within the city. He said that would make it easier for them to respond during such emergencies as a hurricane.

Rossi said he went through a difficult personal period when his marriage fell apart. Amid the contentious divorce in 2001, he was charged with violating a domestic violence injunction taken out by his then-wife. The charge was later dismissed. Rossi said in retrospect that everyone, including himself, should have acted better.

As the Times reported last week, Rossi has also been allowing family members to live on the first floor of his elevated waterfront home, in apparent violation of federal rules and city codes. Rossi has said he did not know about the restrictions.

* * *

Council incumbent Marilynn deChant, 56, said she knew her vote opposing additional financing for Main Street Landing would prove controversial with some voters.

DeChant, who proposes encouraging McGurn to finish at least the retail part of the project, added that she was concerned about the developers' delays on the projects. She said she was skeptical about the financial figures the developers presented to the city last summer when they learned they needed more money. "I didn't trust the numbers," she said.

She said she wants to find a way to reduce the millage rate this year, though she doesn't yet know how.

* * *

Tom Finn, a 51-year-old former City Council member, said he had problems with Main Street Landing all along. "If they really wanted to make it work, why not finish that (retail) building?" he said.

Nonetheless, he said the city should meet with Main Street Landing developers and come up with a new plan. He said the meeting should also include developers of other potential downtown projects, including a proposed condo and retail project at Orange Lake.

He would not support a taxing district for a single project but would support one with multiple sites. Inclusion in the district, he said, would make each project eligible to float a bond for infrastructure costs, which the residents of that specific development would pay for through future property taxes.

Finn is proposing that the city reduce its millage rate by cutting 15 to 20 positions, though he does not know yet which ones. The cuts would be spread out among all the departments, with the exception of the building office, he said.

During his previous terms, Finn made headlines with his public spats with council member Ginny Miller. He says he thinks they've both moved past those times, saying Miller "was very gracious" to him in recent months when he asked City Council for variances in setting up a bed and breakfast.

"I really look forward to working with her again," he said.

* * *

Tom Lackey, 60, who has been on the council for two years, said he thinks the downtown's most promising project is not Main Street Landing, but the Hacienda, which a group of developers hopes to redevelop as a historic hotel. He stands by his decision to vote against additional financing for Main Street Landing.

"If they had sufficient funding, they'd have the retail," he said. "I think way before it came to council there were problems."

He has also proposed cutting the millage rate, though he doesn't have any specific proposals. "I'm hoping it won't come to personnel cuts," he said.

The Job

Council members are elected at large in a nonpartisan race. The top two vote-getters win three-year terms, and third place wins a two-year term. The job pays $3,300 a year. Voters also face two ballot referendums. One question asks if term limits should be removed from the city charter so the mayor and council can serve more than three consecutive terms. A second, nonbinding question asks whether the council should adopt an ordinance to increase the salaries of elected officials by $3,000 annually. Here are the seven candidates:

Bob Consalvo,

65, served as New Port Richey Parks and Recreation director from 1987 to 2006. He was appointed to the council last December to finish the term of Matthew McCaffery, who stepped down to move to Philadelphia. He holds an associate of arts degree from St. Petersburg College. Since joining the council, he has served as the city's representative on the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. He is married and has three grown children and one grown stepchild.

Ray Rossi,

50, the Chicago native is an insurance adjustor and dock builder who has lived in New Port Richey for 13 years. Rossi, who graduated from high school, participates in river clean-up events and is also a member of the Rough Riders charity group. He is divorced and has two grown children.

Samantha Beckman,

18, is a freshman at University of South Florida who commutes to classes from her parents' New Port Richey home. A 2006 graduate of Gulf High School, she served as class president for four years. She is studying history and political science and plans to be a lawyer.

Tom Finn,

51, is seeking a fourth term on the council. He was first elected in 1999 and served six years before term limits forced him out in 2005. He ran again last year and lost. He owns Neon Delights Inc., a commercial sign business, and plans to open a bed and breakfast. He graduated from high school in New York. He is not married.

Marilynn deChant,

56, is seeking a second term on the council. She holds an associate degree from Delta College in Michigan. First elected in 2005, she is a self-employed public relations specialist and is the former director of downtown development group New Port Richey Community Cooperative. She is a member of the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce and is also the city's representative to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Florida League of Cities and Suncoast League of Cities. She is married to former council member Dell deChant.

Rob Marlowe,

53, owns computer company Gulfcoast Networking Inc. and Internet provider Marlowe & Associates in downtown New Port Richey. He was the executive director of the Healthy Start Coalition from 1993 to 1998 and was a top official in the Pasco Democratic party in the 1980s. He holds a bachelor's degree from Florida Southern and a master's of business administration degree from the University of Florida. He grew up in New Port Richey, graduating from Gulf High School in 1972. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Seven Springs. He and his wife have two adult children.

Tom Lackey,

60, is seeking a second term. He retired from a Michigan school district's maintenance department and moved to New Port Richey three years ago. He has a two-year degree from Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Mich., and is a semiretired tax preparer for H&R Block. He has not reported raising or spending any money on his campaign; he said he doesn't want to take money from anyone because of a potential conflict of interest. He is reusing signs left over from his last campaign. He is married and has a grown daughter.

[Last modified April 8, 2007, 07:36:52]